Waiting
by The Mad Maiden
Summary: Cynthia is working and waiting for Lisa so they can go to lunch and she can meet Lisa's mystery boyfreind. Then Jackson Rippner shows up at the hotel looking for Lisa. What can Cynthia do?  Oneshot


**Disclaimer: **Standard disclaimer, I don't own Red Eye or any of the characters. So please don't sue me!

**A/N- **My first Red Eye fic. I hope you like it. I've tried to keep them in character as much as I could. Please no flames but read, review and enjoy!

Waiting

It was near noon at the Lux Atlantic Hotel and Cynthia was getting ready to leave for lunch. She was going out to lunch with her friend Lisa Reisert and she was finally going to meet this mystery man that Lisa was going out with. Lisa had met him at the park while she'd been out for a walk. Cynthia was glad that Lisa had met someone she seemed to like a lot. It was a year and a bit after the red eye flight and she seemed to be finally moving on with her life.

Cynthia checked the clock on the wall again. It was 11:45, and she still was waiting for Lisa to come down from her office upstairs. She was in the lobby herself and luckily not very many people were coming to complain. She hated some of the guests here, they thought that just because she worked at the hotel they could treat her like dirt. Right now the lobby was empty as the lunch rush had just left.

Lisa had told her that her boyfriend would come and meet them at the hotel at around 11:45. Cynthia took another look around the empty lobby then went back to finishing up her work. She wondered if she'd even recognize Lisa's mystery man when he came into the lobby. Lisa hadn't really told her much about him, just that she wanted it to be a surprise.

A couple of minutes later Cynthia was hunched over the desk jotting something into a calendar. She heard someone come up to the desk.

"Hello, is Lisa Reisert here?" A man's voice said over the desk. Cynthia answered as she looked up to see who was there.

"She's--" Cynthia froze when she saw who was standing in front of her. It was Jackson Rippner. She'd never met the man before but she herself had been part of the trial against him. He despite all the odds had managed to get out of the charges. She didn't know how, she'd listened to lawyers explain it and she still didn't understand it. Something about obscure loopholes in the law, Cynthia suspected that a large sum of money had been paid to keep him out of jail. And now he was standing in front of her looking for Lisa. Cynthia had thought that he'd forgotten about Lisa but he clearly hadn't,

"What do you want to see Lisa for?" Cynthia tried to speak bravely to show that she wasn't scared of him. Though it probably wasn't that effective.

"I'm here to get her." Jackson spoke simply. "Where is she?"

Cynthia's mind raced, he was here to get Lisa? Why after so many months was he coming after her today? What should she do? She was starting to panic.

"Lisa's still in her office. She'll be there for a while yet." Cynthia said the first thing that came to her mind hoping that he really couldn't tell when someone was lying as Lisa said he was so good at doing,

" I can wait." Jackson replied. Then he went over to sit in the closest chair. Cynthia watched him go. She checked the clock, it was 11:50. Lisa could be down any minute, or worse her boy friend might show up. She didn't know what kind of man Lisa was dating but she wasn't sure he'd be able to help her. Lisa was always talking about how sweet the guy was….though Jackson didn't know that.

After waiting a minute and seeing that Jackson clearly wasn't leaving Cynthia decided to try out her plan.

"You know Lisa's meeting her boy friend here soon." Cynthia said to Jackson. To her surprise he walked back over to her smirking.

"Really, I thought you said that she'd be in her office for a long time?" Cynthia's face paled as she remembered what she'd said as Jackson kept talking.

"See that's the thing with lies. You tend to get trapped in them. One of many reasons I don't lie. So is Lisa going to be here soon….Cynthia?" He glanced at the name tag she was wearing. Then smiled again. "I remember you, you were at my trial. Lisa's friend, the one who pulled the fire alarm, that was you wasn't it?"

"Y-yes…" Cynthia stammered.

"Okay, Cynthia, since we go back. I'll be nice and ask you one more time. When will Lisa be coming down?" His face seemed to get darker as he spoke and Cynthia could tell he was serious.

"She's coming down soon. She's going out to lunch with me and her boyfriend."

Jackson looked interested. "So Lisa's finally found herself a boyfriend. Have you met him?"

Cynthia was puzzled at the way the conversation was going. "No, I'm meting him today. And you will to if you don't leave soon! He should be here any minute."

"Late is he? That's hardly polite."

"And I suppose you know about being polite." Cynthia said angrily, quite out of character for her because when she got nervous she usually just got flustered. Jackson hadn't been excepting this either as he looked at her in surprise. Then he just smirked. "You'd be surprised. Anyway I happen to know for a fact that Lisa's boyfriend isn't late. He's just gotten as far as he's going to."

Cynthia looked at Jackson in confusion, what on earth had he meant by that? Then his words seemed to sink in. Her face seemed to go whiter, if that was even possible.

"W-w-what did you do to Lisa's boyfriend?"

"Who said I did anything to him?"

"B-but you said he isn't coming."

"I never said that."

Cynthia was now very confused. She stole another glance at the clock. 11:55. Lisa would be down any minute, she'd find Jackson here and not her boyfriend. What a shock that was going to be. It was clear to Cynthia that she wasn't going to be able to get Jackson out here. Just then she saw Lisa step out of the elevator. The elevator was behind Jackson so he didn't see her. Cynthia quickly muttered something about going to see to a guest then practically ran to the elevator.

Lisa stared at Cynthia when she got to the elevator. "What's wrong Cynthia? You look like you've seen a ghost!"

"LisaJacksonRippner'sinthehotellookingforyouandyourboyfriendstillisn'there!" Cynthia gasped it all out as quickly as possible making herself quite impossible to understand.

Lisa looked startled. "What did you say?" They were walking towards the desk but Lisa still hadn't noticed Jackson. Cynthia caught her breath as they reached the desk.

"I said Jackson Rippner's here!" Just as she had said that Jackson Rippner took that opportunity to pop into the conversation.

"Hello Lisa." He said appearing next to Cynthia. "I've heard you're waiting for a boyfriend. Is this true?"

"Yes, it is Jack..." Lisa replied defiantly. Cynthia thought she was going crazy. Why on earth would Lisa be deliberately provoking Jackson?

"Such a shame he doesn't seem to be here to meet you."

"Well things aren't always what they seem are they?" Lisa smirked reminding Cynthia eerily of Jackson.

"Well if he isn't here then he's foolish. Something could happen to you."

Cynthia was watching the two of them. She had expected yelling, fighting, anything but this. They sounded like they were…flirting! She almost had a heart attack when she heard Lisa's reply to what Jackson had just said.

"Well I guess you'll have to protect me then." She leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Lisa!" Cynthia gasped. "What about your boyfriend!"

Lisa turned back to her friend. "Ah yes, well Cynthia I'd like you to meet my boy friend…Jackson Rippner. Jackson, Cynthia my best friend. Jackson nodded his head smiling. "A pleasure."

"He's your boy friend?"

Lisa looked a little guilty, she looked over at Jackson. "Well….can I tell her?"

"Fine." Jackson sighed.

"Well actually he's my fiancé."

"W-w-w-what?" Cynthia stammered then decided to take the easiest way out. She fainted.

Lisa looked down at her friend on the floor.

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"I told you this was a bad idea." Jackson said as the picked up Cynthia and put her on one of the couches in the lobby.

"She had to find out sooner or later. And I'd like to think that it wouldn't just be from a wedding invitation. I just didn't think she'd take it this hard."

"Right." Jackson rolled his eyes. "There's only one other person who would take the news worse then her. Which reminds me, do we really have to go to tell your father today?"

"Don't worry." Lisa said smiling patting him on the knee. "I've hidden his gun."

"I still think we should have eloped." Jackson muttered watching Cynthia start to wake up. "It would have been a whole lot easier."

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**A/N- **Well that's my story, hoped you liked it! And remember Review!


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